Her Simmyship

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

Lawrence watched his son’s face carefully and then sniffed again. Henry took that to be an agreement. 

“Now, we still have some time before dinner. Do you feel strong enough to come with me upstairs to see the progress on the ballroom? I especially wish you to approve the placement of the paneling.”

“Very well, my boy,” Lawrence replied, seemingly content to leave the conversation about the Thornwicks at that.

Henry helped his father out of his chair, careful not to irritate Lawrence by treating him too much like the invalid he truly was.

“Where are my slippers?” Lawrence grumbled.

The slippers were found and Lawrence put a hand on his son’s shoulder as they walked to the door. Henry was pleased to feel its comforting pressure and chattered cheerfully about the ballroom and his future plans for renovation.

All was well, thought Lawrence.

End of Chapter Two.

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

“I’ve invited the Thornwicks to tea on Thursday. I hope you will be well enough to join us and the conversation will remain civil. Mrs. Thornwick shows no sign of holding a grudge, let us match her with hospitality,” Henry pleaded.

Lawrence sniffed and snapped, “Very well, boy, you need not remind me.”

Lawrence sniffed again, thoughtfully this time, and ran his hand along the arm of his chair. He seemed perturbed.

Mastering his voice he said coldly, “Do you still mean to marry that Thornwick girl then?”

Henry was exasperated. “Father, I have not spent more than half an hour in conversation with Miss Thornwick or her family. I still do not know her in the slightest. I simply wish to further my acquaintance with the Thornwicks.”

“I’m not going to marry her tonight, or tomorrow, or even this month for that matter. It is simply tea on Thursday, nothing more. Surely we can handle that?”

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

“My visit went very well. The Thornwicks are pleasant company and I enjoyed myself. Mrs. Thornwick sends her regards to you.”

Lawrence snorted at that. 

“I’m sure she did.” His tone was acidic.

“Father, the Thornwicks were nothing but polite and respectful to me. We have started anew. Please remember your promise.”

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

“More fool he...” Lawrence grumbled indistinctly. 

“Would you truly wish Weston to be a stuffy town doctor with one eye always on his bills? No, you would not care a penny for him if he were not the eccentric, thoughtful, and decidedly country man he is now. We must appreciate the man as he is and not try to change him.”

Lawrence sniffed at that but had no retort. He sat in silence for a moment and then spoke. 

“Well, are you not bursting to tell me? How was your call on the Thornwicks?”

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

Henry was not dampened by his father’s gruffness.

“Now, Father, I have been putting off my call for days. Besides, I was not gone above two hours and I see Weston has been to visit you. I met him on the stairs and he told me how loathe he was to leave. He does enjoy your company so.”

Lawrence sniffed but he looked pleased.

“Weston is a capital fellow. If only he would give up his experiments and settle into a proper town practice, I know he could make something more of himself.”

Henry pulled out a chair and settled comfortably by the fire.

“That is not Weston’s way. He would sooner give up medical practice than his charitable work and research.”

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

Lawrence Beechworth looked up from his armchair and could not repress a brief smile at the sight of his only son in the doorway.

Henry stepped into the room and felt a wave of heat hit him. He had given his father first choice of rooms in the remodeled mansion but Lawrence had chosen the smallest bedroom for its lack of drafts. The fire was stoked in all seasons and the room felt like a sauna.

Lawrence’s smile soon vanished behind his usually stony expression, but Henry knew his father was pleased to see him.

“Good afternoon, Father,” he said cheerfully.

“Humph,” Lawrence snorted and looked away. “Good evening is more appropriate. You’ve been gone half the day.”

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

Henry Beechworth watched Dr. Weston retreat down the stairs. The doctor’s words had left him in a brown study.

He knew he should attend to his father but he lingered in front of the bedroom door. Many dark thoughts swirled around in his head and he felt his head sinking. He had to resist the urge to hide in his room and wait for someone, anyone, else to take control of the situation.

There was no one else. So he painted on a cheerful smile and knocked with all the fierceness he could muster.

“Come in,” his father called from inside.

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

“I’m afraid that any improvement will only be temporary. We can keep him comfortable, limit his pain, but there is nothing else medicine can do for your father at this point.” 

Dr. Weston put a comforting hand on Henry’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, my friend. Your father is a determined man with a strong will. He may fight for a year or even two, but you must prepare yourself for the end.”

Henry felt small. He had to find his voice to say: “Ah, well, thank you, Weston. You’ve often told me not to be optimistic but I, well, it is hard to accept. You’re so good to sit so long with him. I know he enjoys your company.”

“It’s my pleasure. Your father is an amusing man. It is always invigorating to match wits with him. I know his gruffness is all show. Now, I’m sorry to leave you but I must attend to my other patients.”

“Of course. Thank you for keeping him company. I know you have many other, more pressing matters. Goodbye, Weston, and thank you again.”

“Take care, Beechworth.” Dr. Weston said bracingly. 

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

Henry strode up the stairs with more courage then he felt. Dr. Weston emerged into the hallway at the same time and called out to his friend.

“Hello, Beechworth,” Dr. Weston smiled in his quiet way.

“Hello, Weston. It’s so good of you to come. How.. how is my father?”

“He’s been restless but his temperature has gone down. I’ve been sitting with him the past half hour just talking. He simply wants company.”

“So he’s improving?” Henry asked tentatively.

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

Henry sent the carriage off to the carriage house and let himself into Beechworth Manor without waiting for the butler. He still felt a thrill of pride as his latchkey turned in the lock.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Beechworth,” his butler greeted him politely.

“Hello,  “ Henry said cheerfully. “How is my father?”

“Your father has been much the same, sir. Dr. Weston is with him now.”

“Ah,” Henry said. “I’ll go up then. Thank you, “

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

It was a wonder that Henry didn’t feel the heat of Rachel’s pensive stare as he left the cottage and returned to his carriage.

Eleanor turned anxiously to her sister, trying to read her thoughts. “Well?”

“Finally we will see the famous Beechworth Manor! It shan’t live up to SimParis in any case, even the parts of SimParis we were able to see.” Emma answered cheerfully.

“Enough chatter, girls!” Rachel snapped. “We have much to do! Gowns, bonnets, we must do an inventory... Well, what are you waiting for? Immediately! We have much work to do before Thursday!”

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

“Do send my regards to your father, Mr. Beechworth.” Rachel said, managing to sound honest.

“Good day, Mrs. Thornwick, Miss Thornwick, Miss Eleanor.”

The ladies returned his bow politely as Henry Beechworth took his leave.

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

“Ashcombe is no SimParis, but I hope to do all I can to make it a welcoming and pleasant place for your family. When my ballroom is completed, I would be honored if you would be among the first to see it. In the meantime, may I invite you to take tea at Beechworth Manor this Thursday?”

“My daughters and I would be delighted to visit your famed manor, Mr. Beechworth.” Rachel said as Emma and Eleanor looked at her expectantly.

On cue, Mr. Beechworth rose and set aside his teacup. The ladies followed and the room seemed to contract once more.

“My father and I look forward to your visit. Beechworth Manor will be brightened by your presence.”

Hello there! Oh, thank you so much! You’ve really brightened my day! <3

I’ve been collecting Victorian cc on and off for going on six years now. (You can imagine the size of my downloads folder >_>) I could write you an essay and I still wouldn’t be able to name all the wonderful creators that have enriched my game! However, I can point you in the right direction. 

99% of my clothing comes from All-About-Style. Also, AAS conversions by regacylady and silverbelle. Giasims at TSR makes great children’s clothing.

Hair wise, I prefer maxis match textures. There are soo many creators out there retexturing more and more hairs, but I will mention Simgaroop as her work forms the backbone of my entire hair folder. 

The foundation of any Victorian game imo are the wonderful creations of Cashcraft at TSR. Her furniture meshes are my absolute fave and her wallpaper sets are excellent as well. Ms Barrows at TSR does lovely recolors and painting meshes among other things with similar textures. 

I could not fail to mention the AMAZING @regalton-di and her fantastic creations. Corsets, clothing, default replacements, wallpapers, teacups - Di has done it all! She was my first inspiration to start a Victorian game and my download folder would be empty without her! (Also, her story is #goals) Plus check out the community Victoria & George for more cc recs.

Although Hat plays a medieval game, her default replacements are super helpful for any historical era. I also use Sunni’s road replacement and Hexameter’s awesome carriages.

It’s a whole new world to me, but the Plumbob Keep is a great resource for furniture, build mode, and other cc. It’s primarily medieval, but tons can be reused for the Victorian era. The Sun & Moon hobby creations are particularly awesome, though I am struggling to get my old, slow computer to handle them.

I imagine you know this already, but Garden of Shadows is a good place to find furniture and so on. It just takes a bit of digging.

Lastly, I must sing the praises of the lovely @simbury! She plays a gorgeous Regency game but loads of her cc works beautifully in my game. She has done many Cashcraft conversions and furniture recolors as well as stunning wallpapers, jewelry, and hats. (Links here and here) She also has a cc rec blog and is an absolute angel about answering wcifs. I’ve found innumerable gorgeous sets thanks to her! 

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

“Did you ever attend an opera at the Palais Garnier? It is truly one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. When my building efforts are complete, I hope my ballroom lives up to a particle of its splendor.”

“How spectacular! The buildings of SimParis have a certain sparkle that Ashcombe could do well to imitate. The Académie des Sciences...” Eleanor began emphatically.

Rachel was quick to put an end to that line of conversation.

“My dear Emma,” she interrupted. “You must not disparage your mother country so freely. However delightful certain aspects of SimParis are, they cannot compare to the land of your birth and the place where we made so many... happy memories.”

Considering her mother’s earlier comments, Eleanor thought this statement to be farcical, but she could see what her mother was not so subtly getting at.

Aww, thank you, darling! I’m so glad my little story hasn’t been forgotten. And I do hope you’ll like where I’m taking the story! (When I finally get around to the real meaty plot bits! ^^)

(PREVIOUSLY ON DEBTS & DEBUTANTES; FULL CHAPTER; INDEX)

“We did spend some time in SimParis this past year. The sights are quite incomparable.” Emma interjected to her mother’s displeasure.

“SimParis is a magical place, is it not? I visited there with my mother when I was a boy. Walking along the Seine with her is one of my happiest memories.”

“Oh, the Siene! Eleanor, do you remember that night when we walked along there at twilight and saw the floating lanterns?”

“It was like a painting,” Eleanor smiled at the memory.